Deuteronomy 25-27

New King James Version

Laws of Social Responsibility

25 “If there is a ^(A)dispute between men, and they come to ^[a]court, that the judges may judge them, and they ^(B)justify the righteous and condemn the wicked, ² then it shall be, if the wicked man ^(C)deserves to be beaten, that the judge will cause him to lie down ^(D)and be beaten in his presence, according to his guilt, with a certain number of blows. ^3 (E)Forty blows he may give him and no more, lest he should exceed this and beat him with many blows above these, and your brother ^(F)be humiliated in your sight.

^4 (G)“You shall not muzzle an ox while it ^[b]treads out the grain.

Marriage Duty of the Surviving Brother

^5 (H)“If brothers dwell together, and one of them dies and has no son, the widow of the dead man shall not be married to a stranger outside the family; her husband’s brother shall go in to her, take her as his wife, and perform the duty of a husband’s brother to her. ⁶ And it shall be that the firstborn son which she bears ^(I)will succeed to the name of his dead brother, that ^(J)his name may not be blotted out of Israel. ⁷ But if the man does not want to take his brother’s wife, then let his brother’s wife go up to the ^(K)gate to the elders, and say, ‘My husband’s brother refuses to raise up a name to his brother in Israel; he will not perform the duty of my husband’s brother.’ ⁸ Then the elders of his city shall call him and speak to him. But if he stands firm and says, ^(L)‘I do not want to take her,’ ⁹ then his brother’s wife shall come to him in the presence of the elders, ^(M)remove his sandal from his foot, spit in his face, and answer and say, ‘So shall it be done to the man who will not ^(N)build up his brother’s house.’ ¹⁰ And his name shall be called in Israel, ‘The house of him who had his sandal removed.’

Miscellaneous Laws

¹¹ “If two men fight together, and the wife of one draws near to rescue her husband from the hand of the one attacking him, and puts out her hand and seizes him by the genitals, ¹² then you shall cut off her hand; ^(O)your eye shall not pity her.

^13 (P)“You shall not have in your bag differing weights, a heavy and a light. ¹⁴ You shall not have in your house differing measures, a large and a small. ¹⁵ You shall have a perfect and just weight, a perfect and just measure, ^(Q)that your days may be lengthened in the land which the Lord your God is giving you. ¹⁶ For ^(R)all who do such things, all who behave unrighteously, are ^[c]an abomination to the Lord your God.

Destroy the Amalekites

^17 (S)“Remember what Amalek did to you on the way as you were coming out of Egypt, ¹⁸ how he met you on the way and attacked your rear ranks, all the stragglers at your rear, when you were tired and weary; and he ^(T)did not fear God. ¹⁹ Therefore it shall be, ^(U)when the Lord your God has given you rest from your enemies all around, in the land which the Lord your God is giving you to possess as an inheritance, that you will ^(V)blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven. You shall not forget.

Offerings of Firstfruits and Tithes

26 “And it shall be, when you come into the land which the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, and you possess it and dwell in it, ^2 (W)that you shall take some of the first of all the produce of the ground, which you shall bring from your land that the Lord your God is giving you, and put it in a basket and ^(X)go to the place where the Lord your God chooses to make His name abide. ³ And you shall go to the one who is priest in those days, and say to him, ‘I declare today to the Lord ^[d]your God that I have come to the country which the Lord swore to our fathers to give us.’

⁴ “Then the priest shall take the basket out of your hand and set it down before the altar of the Lord your God. ⁵ And you shall answer and say before the Lord your God: ‘My father was ^(Y)a ^[e]Syrian, ^(Z)about to perish, and ^(AA)he went down to Egypt and ^[f]dwelt there, ^(AB)few in number; and there he became a nation, ^(AC)great, mighty, and populous. ⁶ But the ^(AD)Egyptians mistreated us, afflicted us, and laid hard bondage on us. ^7 (AE)Then we cried out to the Lord God of our fathers, and the Lord heard our voice and looked on our affliction and our labor and our oppression. ⁸ So ^(AF)the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm, ^(AG)with great terror and with signs and wonders. ⁹ He has brought us to this place and has given us this land, ^(AH)“a land flowing with milk and honey”; ¹⁰ and now, behold, I have brought the firstfruits of the land which you, O Lord, have given me.’

“Then you shall set it before the Lord your God, and worship before the Lord your God. ¹¹ So ^(AI)you shall rejoice in every good thing which the Lord your God has given to you and your house, you and the Levite and the stranger who is among you.

¹² “When you have finished laying aside all the ^(AJ)tithe of your increase in the third year—^(AK)the year of tithing—and have given it to the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, so that they may eat within your gates and be filled, ¹³ then you shall say before the Lord your God: ‘I have removed the ^[g]holy tithe from my house, and also have given them to the Levite, the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, according to all Your commandments which You have commanded me; I have not transgressed Your commandments, ^(AL)nor have I forgotten them. ^14 (AM)I have not eaten any of it ^[h]when in mourning, nor have I removed any of it ^[i]for an unclean use, nor given any of it for the dead. I have obeyed the voice of the Lord my God, and have done according to all that You have commanded me. ^15 (AN)Look down from Your holy ^[j]habitation, from heaven, and bless Your people Israel and the land which You have given us, just as You swore to our fathers, ^(AO)“a land flowing with milk and honey.” ’

A Special People of God

¹⁶ “This day the Lord your God commands you to observe these statutes and judgments; therefore you shall be careful to observe them with all your heart and with all your soul. ¹⁷ Today you have ^(AP)proclaimed the Lord to be your God, and that you will walk in His ways and keep His statutes, His commandments, and His judgments, and that you will ^(AQ)obey His voice. ¹⁸ Also today ^(AR)the Lord has proclaimed you to be His special people, just as He promised you, that you should keep all His commandments, ¹⁹ and that He will set you ^(AS)high above all nations which He has made, in praise, in name, and in honor, and that you may be ^(AT)a ^[k]holy people to the Lord your God, just as He has spoken.”

The Law Inscribed on Stones

27 Now Moses, with the elders of Israel, commanded the people, saying: “Keep all the commandments which I command you today. ² And it shall be, on the day ^(AU)when you cross over the Jordan to the land which the Lord your God is giving you, that ^(AV)you shall set up for yourselves large stones, and whitewash them with lime. ³ You shall write on them all the words of this law, when you have crossed over, that you may enter the land which the Lord your God is giving you, ^(AW)‘a land flowing with milk and honey,’ just as the Lord God of your fathers promised you. ⁴ Therefore it shall be, when you have crossed over the Jordan, that ^(AX)on Mount Ebal you shall set up these stones, which I command you today, and you shall whitewash them with lime. ⁵ And there you shall build an altar to the Lord your God, an altar of stones; ^(AY)you shall not use an iron tool on them. ⁶ You shall build with ^[l]whole stones the altar of the Lord your God, and offer burnt offerings on it to the Lord your God. ⁷ You shall offer peace offerings, and shall eat there, and ^(AZ)rejoice before the Lord your God. ⁸ And you shall ^(BA)write very plainly on the stones all the words of this law.”

⁹ Then Moses and the priests, the Levites, spoke to all Israel, saying, “Take heed and listen, O Israel: ^(BB)This day you have become the people of the Lord your God. ¹⁰ Therefore you shall obey the voice of the Lord your God, and observe His commandments and His statutes which I command you today.”

Curses Pronounced from Mount Ebal

¹¹ And Moses commanded the people on the same day, saying, ¹² “These shall stand ^(BC)on Mount Gerizim to bless the people, when you have crossed over the Jordan: Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, Joseph, and Benjamin; ¹³ and ^(BD)these shall stand on Mount Ebal to curse: Reuben, Gad, Asher, Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali.

¹⁴ “And ^(BE)the Levites shall speak with a loud voice and say to all the men of Israel: ^15 (BF)‘Cursed is the one who makes a carved or molded image, ^[m]an abomination to the Lord, the work of the hands of the craftsman, and sets it up in secret.’

^(BG)“And all the people shall answer and say, ‘Amen!’

^16 (BH)‘Cursed is the one who treats his father or his mother with contempt.’

“And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’

^17 (BI)‘Cursed is the one who moves his neighbor’s landmark.’

“And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’

^18 (BJ)‘Cursed is the one who makes the blind to wander off the road.’

“And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’

^19 (BK)‘Cursed is the one who perverts the justice due the stranger, the fatherless, and widow.’

“And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’

^20 (BL)‘Cursed is the one who lies with his father’s wife, because he has uncovered his father’s bed.’

“And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’

^21 (BM)‘Cursed is the one who lies with any kind of animal.’

“And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’

^22 (BN)‘Cursed is the one who lies with his sister, the daughter of his father or the daughter of his mother.’

“And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’

^23 (BO)‘Cursed is the one who lies with his mother-in-law.’

“And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’

^24 (BP)‘Cursed is the one who attacks his neighbor secretly.’

“And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’

^25 (BQ)‘Cursed is the one who takes a bribe to slay an innocent person.’

“And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’

^26 (BR)‘Cursed is the one who does not confirm all the words of this law by observing them.’

“And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’ ”